Update:

I did it! It was a tough ride, but made it! You can my ride recap on Instagram. Thank you to everyone for your support!

Ride With Me As I Train To #TackleAsthma!

Asthma feels like an anaconda wrapping around your chest. Every breath hurts and panic sets in. You start to cough, and that hurts even more. You just can't catch your breath. This is a feeling that I'm all too familiar with.

Asthma affects my life every single day. Asthma creates fear and isolation – fear that if you try to do something fun or go somewhere, it will rear its ugly head and hold you back. Fear that you will then hold everyone back and spoil the fun. This was the fear that held me back from biking with my family. No one understood that some days, I could keep up and other days I just couldn't. This created isolation and sometimes resentment.

My husband has wanted to do the Rosarito Ensenada Bike Ride for several years. It's a "half-century" or 50-mile bike ride! The timing just had not worked with kids in school. This fall, we become empty-nesters and can be more flexible in our travel. So, this is the year! My initial response was utter panic! How in the world am I going to make it 50 miles? I don't want to sit out and miss the fun, but I also don't want to hold him back. I've decided that I'm going to train and tackle this ride! And honestly, I'm scared! The ride is in late September which means I have nearly 4 months to train.

Read more of my journey:

Kathy P Trains to #TackleAsthma

Successes and Setbacks

Fill My Shirt

I'm going to use my training and this bike ride to raise awareness about asthma! I want to start a conversation about the reality of living with asthma every single day.

AAFA is dedicated to improving the quality of life for people with asthma and allergic diseases through education, advocacy and research. With any donation, big or small, you can help further that mission.

For every donation of $10 or more, I will add your name to my shirt! You'll be riding along with me, cheering me on, encouraging me when the going gets tough and helping put a face on asthma.

Follow my journey on AAFA's blog and on Instagram @AAFAKathyP

Update:

Thanks you to an annonymous friend for making such a generous donation! I cannot fully express how grateful and touched I am to receive this support of AAFA's mission, and the families they serve. Together, we can provide life-saving information and education, support, as well as fund research and advocate for the millions of Americans managing asthma and allergic diseases.

In light of this very generous gift, I have decided to increase the goal of my bike ride to $2,000, so my efforts can reach and support that many more patients and families. My goal remains to be sharing my journey through training as an example of all that is possible – with the right education and partners, we can truly accomplish great things.

Are you participating in a local or endurance event such as a 5k, 10k, 1/2 or full marathon or bike ride? Your accomplishment can help support patients and families managing asthma and allergic disease. By creating a fundraising page you can raise money to support AAFA while training and participating in the event. We can provide you with a t-shirt or help set up a fundraising page - just contact fundraise@aafa.org to request more information or support.